Commits get look at campus up close

Tight end commit Mike Heuerman arrived in South Bend on Thursday and stayed until Sunday night for a long weekend visit to his future college campus.

But this most recent trip had a little more excitement than his previous visits.

"There was always something to do having different guys on campus with me," Heuerman said. "It was exciting because looking at some of the other players working out, that's going to be us. The excitement level was definitely high."

On Thursday, Heuerman met up with his fellow commits on campus and the uncommitted 2013 prospects: Linebacker Alex Anzalone and cornerback MacKensie Alexander. He took Alexander on a tour of Notre Dame Stadium during the day.

All the recruits met with head coach Brian Kelly for a cookout on the outdoor patio connected to Kelly's office at the Guglielmino Athletics Complex on Thursday evening.

Heuerman and defensive end commit Jacob Matuska said Kelly looked to be doing well after his recent back surgery, walking around like nothing was wrong.

On Friday, Heuerman tagged along on a tour with Anzalone and the recruits and went through some drill work with the coaching staff.

"It was good to start throwing with (quarterback commit) Malik (Zaire) and work against (linebacker commit) Jaylon (Smith) and Anzalone, some of the better linebackers in the country," Heuerman said.

Matuska was the only defensive line recruit on campus, so he got to spend individual time working with defensive line coach Mike Elston. He also caught some passes from Zaire as a tight end.

"He worked with me a little bit and taught me a few things because I'm not particularly familiar with defensive end because I've played outside linebacker in high school," Matuska said of his time with Elston. "He definitely taught me a few things that will be helpful."

Matuska headed home Friday evening with Zaire. During his two days on campus, Matuska said he felt like the commits did a good job of selling the programs to the uncommitted recruits.

"They seemed pretty happy and they seemed like they had a lot of fun," Matuska said. "We treated them like they were commits themselves and included them in everything we did and hung out with them the whole time."

"Hopefully we impressed them with what we did so they can commit and be a part of our family."After many of the recruits left on Friday, Heuerman spent much of his time on campus with Alexander and other current players.

Spending so much time with Alexander, Heuerman got the impression that he really enjoyed his stay on campus.

"He's visited Florida, Florida State and Miami, but he hadn't really left the state to see what else is out there," Heuerman said. "Getting up there and seeing Notre Dame's campus, which is one of the prettiest ones there is, he was kind of blown away."

Heuerman's been in touch with his friend Anzalone since he left Notre Dame and made a trip to Florida."He hands down loved it," Heuerman said. "He'll figure out sooner or later what his decision is going to be. I feel like we're right there. I would be very surprised if we didn't get him."

The visit was equal parts recruiting and a chance for the commits to get to know each other. Heuerman and Matuska hadn't met a few of the other commits.

"It's cool to see the guys and how they all are kind of the same with their mindset and have the same attitude and characteristics," Matuska said. "It was cool to be around them and hang out."

Heuerman was able to meet some of the incoming freshman arriving on campus including running back KeiVarae Russell and wide receiver Justin Ferguson.

The trip was much more than just a sell-job for commits like Heuerman. Each day on campus reassured Heuerman that he's made the right choice in Notre Dame.

"I came out feeling stronger than ever about Notre Dame," Heuerman said. "It was great."